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To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)
| starring = | music = John Morris | cinematography = Gerald Hirschfeld | editing = Alan Balsam | studio = Brooksfilms | distributor = 20th Century Fox | released = | runtime = 107 minutes | country = United States | language = English, Polish | budget = $9 millionAubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p260 | gross = $13 million }} To Be or Not to Be is a 1983 American war comedy film directed by Alan Johnson, produced by Mel Brooks, and starring Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, and José Ferrer. The screenplay was written by Ronny Graham and Thomas Meehan, based on the original story by Melchior Lengyel, Ernst Lubitsch and Edwin Justus Mayer. The film is a remake of the 1942 film of the same name. Cast * Mel Brooks as Frederick Bronski * Anne Bancroft as Anna Bronski * Charles Durning as S.S. Colonel Erhardt * Christopher Lloyd as S.S. Captain Schultz * Tim Matheson as Lieutenant Andrei Sobinski * José Ferrer as Professor Siletski * Ronny Graham as Sondheim, Stage Manager * Estelle Reiner as Gruba * Jack Riley as Dobish * Lewis J. Stadlen as Lupinsky * George Gaynes as Ravitch * George Wyner as Ratkowski * Earl Boen as Dr. Boyarski * Ivor Barry as General Hobbs * William Glover as Major Cunningham * James Haake as Sasha * Marley Sims as Rifka * Max Brooks as Rifka's son * Larry Rosenberg as Rifka's husband * Milt Jamin as Gestapo soldier * Wolf Muser as Desk sergeant * Henry Brandon as Nazi officer * Tucker Smith as Klotski's Klown * Curt Lowens as Airport officer * Terence Marsh as Startled British officer * Paul Ratliff as Naval officer * Scott Beach as Narrator Connections with the original This remake was mostly faithful to the 1942 film on which it was based and, in many cases, dialogue was taken verbatim from the earlier film. The characters of Bronski and Joseph Tura are, however, combined into a single character (played by Brooks). The character of the treacherous Professor Siletsky (here spelled Siletski) was made into a more comic, even somewhat buffoonish, figure; in the original he was the only completely serious character. Instead of having the company preparing for Hamlet, Bronski performs his "world famous, in Poland" highlights from Hamlet, including the To Be or Not To Be soliloquy, from which the film's name is taken. His dresser, Anna, has been replaced with Sasha, allowing them to address the plight of gay people under the Nazis, as well as the Jews. Reception Roger Ebert's three-star review stated that in the film, Mel Brooks "combines a backstage musical with a wartime romance and comes up with an eclectic comedy that races off into several directions, usually successfully."Ebert, Roger. Chicago Sun Times film review, December 16, 1983. Last accessed: January 30, 2011. Gene Siskel awarded two-and-half stars and wrote that the film "contains more genuine sentiment than big laughs. If you are looking for laughs, as I was the first time I saw it, you may be disappointed. More often than not the jokes just lay there, a beat late, easily anticipated. On a second viewing, however, the sentiment of the piece rings true, particularly the troupe's final theatrical confrontation with an all-Nazi audience."Siskel, Gene (December 19, 1983). "In Brooks' 'To Be,' the laughs are not". Chicago Tribune. Section 5, p. 10. Vincent Canby of The New York Times lauded the film as "smashingly funny. I'm not at all sure that it's a classic, but it's so good in its own right, in the way it preserves and revives the wonderfully farcical Edwin Justus Mayer screenplay, that you leave the theater having a brand-new high."Canby, Vincent (December 16, 1983). "Screen: 'To Be or Not to Be,' With Mel Brooks". The New York Times. C10. Variety called it "very funny stuff indeed," adding, "Durning is a standout as the buffoonish Gestapo topper and Bancroft's pseudo-seduction of him, and Ferrer, are among the pic's highlights.""Film Reviews: To Be Or Not To Be". Variety. December 14, 1983. 16. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times thought that the film didn't work "on two formidable counts. First, Brooks and his associates could never be accused of having anything remotely resembling a Lubitsch touch: that celebrated, indefinable combination of wit, subtlety and sophistication that allowed the legendary Berlin-born director to get away with implying just about anything, although even he was accused of bad taste in making his 'To Be Or Not To Be.' Second, we know far more than was known in 1942 of the full extent of the Nazi evil, especially in regard to the fate of the Jews ... Somehow an entire movie that depicts the Nazis as the buffoons of fantasy, while we know full well that the peril of Brooks' largely Jewish acting company is all too real, isn't very funny but instead is merely crass."Thomas, Kevin (December 16, 1983). "A 'To Be' That Should Not Have Been". Los Angeles Times. Part VI, p. 22. Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote that "Brooks embarks on an unnecessary remake and then fails to tailor the material adequately to a 1980s perspective or his own performing strengths ... the result is a klunky, tacky-looking color reproduction of the original."Arnold, Gary (December 16, 1983). "Nazis and Nonsense". The Washington Post. F1, F10. David Ansen of Newsweek stated, "To those who know and love the Jack Benny-Carole Lombard original, this may seem like sacrilege. But because the copy is so entertaining in its own right, it seems more a tribute than a rip-off ... Do not expect the usual Brooksian ka-ka jokes and mad non sequiturs: this is his warmest, most plotbound and traditional movie. It may be a twice-told tale, but it's nice to know that delight can strike twice in the same spot."Ansen, David (December 19, 1983). "Upstaging the Third Reich". Newsweek. p. 66. It has a 61% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews, indicating "Fresh." However, the film was not a great commercial success, grossing only $13,030,214. Awards For his performance as Colonel Erhardt, Charles Durning was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. At the 41st Golden Globe Awards, Durning was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Anne Bancroft was nominated for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical. References External links * * * * Category:1983 films Category:American satirical films Category:American screwball comedy films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:American film remakes Category:Films about actors Category:Films about theatre Category:American slapstick comedy films Category:World War II films Category:Films scored by John Morris Category:Films produced by Mel Brooks Category:Brooksfilms films Category:20th Century Fox films Category:Films directed by Alan Johnson (choreographer) Category:Polish-language films Category:1980s screwball comedy films